The show was almost cancelled after the first series. The BBC thought it was too “Cockney and strange.” Then John Sullivan, the writer, rewrote Del Boy to be more lovable, and the rest is history. By 1996, the cast were earning £100,000 per episode—a fortune that made even Del Boy proud.
Today, David Jason is Sir David Jason, and Nicholas Lyndhurst is still a beloved recluse. Buster Merryfield? His bank manager past is now a trivia question in every pub quiz. And the Trotter’s Nidge Trotter nickname? That was a real 1980s slang for a very specific hairstyle.
So next time you watch Del slipping on a bar, remember: these weren’t just actors. They were a bunch of pros who fell, swore, and improvised their way into our hearts. And they did it all while wearing the ugliest cardigans known to humanity. Lovely jubbly.
